Hitachi squeezes fuel cell into PDA

Japanese electronics giant Hitachi is teaming up with disposable-lighter maker Tokai to produce commercial fuel cells for handheld computers in 2005, the companies said this week.

Several electronics companies are investigating fuel cells as an alternative to existing nickel cadmium batteries and lithium ion batteries, which will inevitably hit a barrier when portable devices become more power-hungry. Fuel cells, just one of the alternative techniques under investigation, could create a long-lasting and cheap power source in a small package.

Fuel cells generate electricity through a chemical reaction between oxygen and a fuel, such as hydrogen or methanol. The cells continue to produce electricity as long there is fuel. Hitachi, Toshiba, NEC and NTT DoCoMo have all announced plans to commercialise methanol-powered devices.

Hitachi and Tokai said they have created a prototype cartridge about the size of an AA battery that contains methanol at a 20 percent concentration, and could power a PDA for six to eight hours. The companies are planning to raise the concentration to 30 percent by the time mass production begins, meaning longer cell life.

Toshiba originally planned to produce a fuel cell in 2004, but delayed its plans by a year. In October, the company said it had created a product that is capable of providing an output of watt per hour for approximately 20 hours of operation, using a 25 cubic centimetre fuel cartridge.

Toshiba demonstrated a prototype fuel cell at this year's CeBIT electronics show in Germany, while NEC and Hitachi showed prototypes at the Nano Tech 2003 show in Japan.

Toshiba is designing its fuel cell as a handheld charger for batteries in mobile devices, while NEC's prototype earlier this year could power a notebook for five hours. NEC said it was planning to develop and sell a 40-hour unit by the end of 2005.

Fuel cells must overcome issues such as water management, volumetric energy density and packaging before they can become widely used, according to technology research firm Allied Business Intelligence (ABI).

An ABI study concluded that micro fuel cells are more likely to be realised in the high-end products that have ample space, such as notebooks, and in specific niche markets, such as industrial mobile computing. The firm projected that the first 5,000 units of commercial micro fuel cell products in laptops and in niche markets will appear in 2004 to 2005, with global shipments to reach 200 million units in 2011.

ZDNet UK's Munir Kotadia and CNet Asia staff contributed to this report.